Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 12:19 am
Country star Billy Ray Cyrus, father of Miley Cyrus, who achieved fame on the strength of his song, “Achy Breaky Heart“, appeared on CNN’s Piers Morgan Friday and came out in support of President Obama:
Asked if he approved of his daughter Miley’s tweet of support for President Obama, Billy Ray Cyrus answered, “Well, my dad always said there are only two things in the middle of the road: that’s yellow lines and dead possum. You’ve got to stand for something and you’ve got to stand for what you believe in.”
Miley Cyrus had beat her dad to the punch, tweeting a photo of herself on October 12 wearing a sleeveless Obama t-shirt.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
#ROCKTHEVOTE twitter.com/MileyCyrus/sta…
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) October 12, 2012
As to the condition of the country, the singer said,
My view is that, you know, America is coming out of a deep hole. when President Obama took over we were pretty far upside down in a lot of different ways around the world. And he’s only been in four years and I think the country is making a turn around. it takes time. it takes time and you can feel america is kinda getting is balnce and i think the president needs four more years.
“I’m gonna vote for him again. I believe in him.”
When it comes to veterans issues, Cyrus sees President Obama as the answer.
“I’ve seen our president, I’ve seen the support of the troops,” he said, adding, ” I think our country believes in our president and I believe President Obama believes in our veterans. ”
This is a far cry from Hank Williams, Jr., who last year lost his gig on Monday Night Football after comparing Obama to Hitler. This year Hank’s story at the Iowa State Fair, was that Obama is a “Muslim” who “hates the military.”
Hank Williams sings “Hey Barack, pack your bags, head to Chicago, take your teleprompter with you so you’ll know where to go.”
The Cyrus family is setting themselves apart from the Nashville establishment, which is largely pro-Romney, including Kid Rock, who on February 27, 2012, appeared at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan. Randy Travis is another pro-Romney singer but Randy Travis, unlike Meatloaf, got arrested for public intoxication. Sara Evans has shown herself to be another victim of Romnesia.
It is amusing to watch Republicans scorn Hollywood as a hotbed of liberal vice but embrace Nashville. Apparently, a singer’s opinion is more valuable than an actor’s. Don’t even try to figure out how this can be true. You’ll hurt yourself.
But Cyrus points to Obama’s strengths, not imagined and fabricated weaknesses being pushed by Team Romney and others. He says,
“We’ve got to pick the right president. this is the most important election in our country’s history.”
The singer also criticized Romney’s flip-flopping, saying that he regrets that his album is named “Change my Mind” because “it’s pretty much his (Romney’s) theme song.”
Barack Obama also has the support of zany pop singer Katy Perry, who drew looks for her Obama get-up:
In other musical news but hardly a side-note, the Republicans are still stealing music from people who hate everything the Republican Party currently stands for. The National is upset that their song, “Fake Empire” is being used in a pro-Romney video put together by a group calling itself Ohio University Students for Romney. The band let Obama use Fake Empire during his 2008 run. They’re not amused that the song is now being used in support of Mitt Romney. In language even a Republican should be able to understand, they make their feelings clear, with frontman Matt Berninger saying on YouTube:
Our music was used without our permission in this ad. The song you’re using was written about the same backward, con game policies Romney is proposing. We encourage all students to educate themselves about the differences between the inclusive, pro-social, compassionate, forward-thinking policies of President Obama and the self-serving politics of the neo-conservative movement and Mitt Romney. Every single person involved in the creation of the music you’re using is voting for President Obama.
Well, Romney has stolen Obama’s politics so why not steal his supporters’ music? Romney’s recent rhetoric has made clear that he realizes Obama is the man, and his response has been to try to position himself as…Obama. But we already have an Obama, a real Obama. So why pick Romney?
That should be obvious: He’s Obama. But he’s white.
Fortunately, the Cyruses and others have recognized Mitt Romney for what he is, and like General Colin Powell, realize that Barack Obama is the answer. Romney is only a bundle of questions that he won’t answer unless we cast our votes for him.
Don’t be a victim of Romnesia. Pay attention. And with all the non-publicly-drunk singers and actors, let’s go forward.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
